HMS Speedy (1782)

Type

Brig

Period

18th Century

Nation

Great Britain

Overview: HMS Speedy was a 14-gun brig-sloop of the Royal Navy, famous as the tiny vessel commanded by Lord Thomas Cochrane during the French Revolutionary Wars. She is one of the most celebrated small warships in Royal Navy history, largely due to Cochrane's exploits, which later inspired fictional ships in Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin novels. Specifications: She and her sister ship HMS Flirt were built to a Speedy-class design by Thomas King of Dover, Kent, with a cutter-shaped hull intended to make them small, fast escort vessels rather than slower, more seaworthy ship-sloops. She measured about 78 ft 3 in overall length, 25 ft 9 in beam, and 207 21/94 tons burthen, carrying 14 four-pounder long guns plus 12 half-pounder swivel guns and a complement of around 90 men. Service History: Launched in 1782 near the end of the American War of Independence, Speedy served off the British coast during the interwar years before being sent to the Mediterranean after the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars. She was captured by the French in 1794 and quickly retaken by the Royal Navy in 1795, after which commanders including Charles Cunningham, Hugh Downman, and Jahleel Brenton fought numerous actions against French and Spanish forces. Her most famous cruise came under Lord Cochrane, who took command in 1800 and, in the Action of 6 May 1801, forced the surrender of the much larger Spanish frigate El Gamo; Cochrane and Speedy captured or sank dozens of enemy vessels before she was finally overwhelmed and captured by a powerful French squadron under Rear-Admiral Charles Linois on 3 July 1801. Notable Facts: After her capture, Napoleon donated Speedy to the Papal Navy, where she served as San Paolo until being struck from service around 1806. The action against El Gamo, in which Cochrane's 54-man crew took a frigate carrying over 300 men, remains one of the most lopsided victories in Royal Navy history and a popular subject for painters and modelers alike.